This invention relates primarily to human body pads and more particularly pads for the hip area which distribute forces encountered during a fall to surrounding soft tissue rather than merely cushion the hip areas from such force.
Present-day hip pads and pads for other parts of the body primarily act as cushions to lessen the impact encountered during the user""s fall, as an example. Of course, such pads also are presently used to provide the same type of cushioning effect, for instance, during sporting activity; e.g. a football player""s helmut, a hockey goalee""s knee pad etc. In either case, and in any case, the cushioning of a blow or the impact from a fall would cause less serious injury if the forces from such blow or impact were distributed to soft tissue area, than if such forces are merely cushioned.
This is particularly important with respect to weakened bones or osteoporatic bones, both found commonly in older persons.
It is also important, with respect to pads for lessening injury from an impact, that such pads fit the body area to be protected in a manner that is convenient and comfortable for the user.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a hip pad for protecting the proximal area of the femur.
A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a pad for the proximal area of the femur which distributes the force encountered during a fall to surrounding soft tissue and more distal areas of the femur.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hip pad which is convenient and comfortable to use in order to provide more protection for the weak and osteoporatic bone from insult, which can result in hip fractures.
These and other objects of the present invention are provided by a hip pad which features an inner core of linear density polyethylene or other plastic, molded to fit the proximal area of the femur for the particular patient, a primary inner foam layer covered by the inner core, and the inner core and primary inner foam layer being sandwiched between a secondary inner layer of foam and a primary outer layer foam, which are laminated together primarily at their edges. The inner core serves to dissipate force to surrounding soft tissue and the more distal areas of the femur, with the primary inner foam layer acting as a bubble cushion, the secondary inner layer and the primary outer layer foam acting as a seal for the device to create an air bubble.